Steel Magnolias has almost enough old-fashioned charm and tart humor to transcend a
predictable plot that borders on soap opera, and CATCO's production of Robert Harling's leisurely
two-act play is graced by six performers who work together smoothly to create a winning
ensemble.

The four scenes of the play bring those six together for the key moments of a couple of eventful
years. They're all set in a small town in Louisiana, in the carport turned beauty salon run by
sunny, sassy Truvy Jones (Gail Griffith).

The play opens on the wedding day of frail, determined Shelby (Andrea Schmitt), who is joined at
the salon by her concerned mother M'Lynn (Sarah Behrens). It's also the first day at work for
nervous newcomer Annelle (Kelly Strand), whose nerves are not soothed by feisty, recently widowed
Clairee (Josie Merkle) and crabby neighbor Ouiser (Jackie Bates).

As the years scroll by, secrets are revealed, gossip is exchanged, relationships begin and end,
and the circle of life continues.

Director Steven Anderson allows the rhythm of the show to develop naturally and without
straining for laughs, though the play sometimes drags, particularly as it approaches its inevitable
conclusion. While the players don't necessarily sound as if they're from Louisiana, their lightly
Southern accents are consistent.

Schmitt's likable Shelby is perhaps too sturdily grounded to make the audience believe that
she's risking her life at every turn, and the scenes with Behrens as her mother are often more
affable than sharp-edged.

Strand makes an intriguing Annelle, remaining an outsider even as she makes friends in the
group, and Griffith is an agreeably relaxed presence as Trudy, while Merkle and Bates spar with a
gusto only possible with longtime friendship.

Jakyung Seo's crisp, bright lighting enhances the sense that these characters are performing for
each other even as they go about their daily lives, and Ruth Boyd's costumes are classic enough
that they don't restrict the action to a particular period of time.

Within the limits of the script, this production forgoes melodrama in favor of amiable
interaction, which makes for a pleasant evening's entertainment, though perhaps at the expense of
dramatic tension.